Monthly Archives: September 2013

“Employee Database” – we feel Corporate HR alone has access to these names. Ever wondered or dreamt of getting access to real time employee data of all companies without being had to run behind insurance companies or by illegally buying the databank. YES there is a way to get access to this without shelling out a single penny.

You must be kidding. How can you get India’s largest database of Employees!! And to make things more interesting, for FREE!! How on earth is this possible!! Well, I am not a hacker, so this option is ruled out. During writing this post, I often did ask myself this question “After this post, some authorities and companies might want to block this database access!!

So have I scared you enough!! So if this data involves all the companies that are operating in India, how can it be free to access? Well, I am still looking for those answers. But imagine the power of this database. People can use it and also misuse it. Again it depends on how and what you want to do with this data. Normally people use the term Gold Mine, but I would like to call this as Diamond Mine. Such is the power of this data. Enough of selling.

Some questions before we get into the database:

Can you get the entire list of employees working in any company in India!!!

Can you find the exact number and full names of employees working in any organization in India!!

Can you get the latest report of employee’s headcount (Updated every month)

Want to know how many employees your competitors hired last month, last year!!

Is all this possible!!! If yes, can you access it for FREE!!!

Well, as they say what’s knowledge without sharing it? And the more you share, the more you end up learning.

Enough of suspense. Following is the magic link that will answer all the questions that were highlighted earlier and much more. http://www.epfindia.gov.in/

Once you reach the page, just go and click on the last checkbox, ie – “Also search on Estt. Name (enter a few characters of estt. name or in full)”. And now all you need to do is enter any Company Name that operates from India. Simple!! Once you enter that company name, click on Payment Part. And then what you get in nothing short of a Eureka moment, which includes:

Sl. No. – TRRN – Date of Credit – Amount Wages Month – No. of Employee – ECR and Member Passbook details. To get the name of all the employees working in that organization, all you need to do is click on the hyperlink (No of employees) section. Also to add, this data gets updated every month. Well, EPF org has to do it, as companies pay their own contribution every month. So no chance of this data being stale or old. How cool is this!!!

So can this be India’s largest database of employees!!!

Some of you might question the ethics part while sharing such data. Well, this data is free to access (As we speak). Not sure if companies plan to block it in future. But personally I feel such data should not be open to all. Looking forward to connect with you and know your views, opinions on how this data can help you? Will you use this data!! Is it right to have the access of this data!! Should this data be blocked!!!

Power of 140 characters 🙂 Just tweeted this on Twitter “Any topics that u have in mind related to #Hiring #Recruitment #Candidates!!! Planning to write a post on it. Suggestions are welcomed 🙂” and there you go, had 3 topics within seconds on which I could write. Thanks to @bubbly_ank , @SinhViveck and @RajeshMTHRG for suggesting 3 interesting topics. Well, following is a small attempt to cover these topics. Also looking forward to your views on it.

So let’s look at Topic Number 1 (Suggested by @bubbly_ank ) – Will recruiters ever recruit through a twitter interview? 😉

Well, this surely is an interesting topic to think about and surely write about. To be honest, a few recruiters have started looking at bios of prospective candidates. Also candidates have started to realize the importance of using keywords in their bio. What is a Twitter Bio!! Well, you can read about it in my previous post too. So will recruiters ever recruit through a twitter interview!! It is difficult to say it right now. But Recruiters and Candidates both need to use it to their strength. Recorded Interview Questions is a new trend in which Interview Panels record set of questions and candidates answers it and send the clippings. Based on which the panel can view and review the recording and then decide. Most of you might not be comfortable with this process of conducting an interview. But this too might be a new trend.

Well, did you know that last year, a select group of engineer and designer candidates skipped the traditional interview process to walk a wooded trail with Mark Zuckerberg. You can also check the post here – HR Perspective: New Interview Trends .So, you never know, anything is possible.

A lot has been written about this topic, but would like to add some of my personal experiences during conducting interviews. Candidates most of the times do not research about the company before going for an interview. This is the most common mistake. Candidates do have the Power of Social Media where they can get all the information about the companies. I can understand they might not visit the company website, but they can surely visit Company Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter accounts!! Right!! To take things further, candidates can also visit the Interviewers LinkedIn profile, if they know who is going to conduct the interview. Interesting, right!! Being prepared is half the battle won.

Topic Number 3 (Suggested by @RajeshMTHRG ) – How about the strangest/ funniest hiring experiences? 🙂

Well talking about strangest hiring experiences in general would be “Some of the Delivery Managers want a Rocket Scientist, they want tall, dark, handsome, blue eyed, brown hair candidate, who can join ASAP and at a lesser cost. For those in the recruitment business will surely understand this term. I have nothing against them, but at times one has to be realistic too. So much so for the strangest / funniest hiring experience.

So, hope you enjoyed these 3 interesting topics. Looking forward to your views on these topics too. Would be interesting to know your perspective. Would be more than happy to learn from all you readers out there.